CHAPTER FIVE —— SHANES LAW
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     RICK HAD ASKED GRACIE TO KEEP AN EYE ON SHANE, while he smoothed things over with Herschel. So Gracie stood watching as Shane circled the barn. He had gone insane was all she could think of.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Shane asked all of a sudden. Gracie realized she was staring and tried to play it off.

"Like what Shane?" Gracie questioned.

"Like you don't trust me anymore. You used to trust me with your life, with your brothers life, with Carls life. So what changed?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit." Shane spat getting in her face.

"Why are you picking a fight with me right now? Back off." Gracie glared at him, warning him not to do something stupid.

"I'm trynna save us. Protect us all, apparently your brother can't do it, so somebody has to!"

"Shane, back off." Gracie warned again.

Shane huffed out a frustrated sigh before stepping back.

Screw this, she thought, she wasn't going to be his babysitter. As she stormed off she saw Andrea walking in her direction towards the barn. Gracie assumed her and Shane had something going on. She wanted to tell Andrea to find a man who still had his marbles attached.

➷ ➷ ➷

Gracie sat with Carl and Olive as they colored together.

"I'm supposed' to be working on my math problems." Carl said.

"Coloring is funner." Olive told him.

"'Funner' isn't a word." Carl grumbled. Gracie playfully wacked him upside the head as if to say 'be nice'. Carl had maybe two years on Olive but his experiences slightly aged him up. Olive still had her innocence in the way she looked at the world.

That didn't need to be ruined so soon.

"It can be a word, it can be our word."

"K fine, but it doesn't make it an actual word." Carl says emphasizing on the word actual.

"Whatever floats your boat cowboy." The young girl quipped before turning to Gracie. "Me and daddy are having a tea party with my stuffed animals, you wanna join?"

Gracie smiled and nodded, she could use the distraction in the mean time.

"Carl?"

"That stuff's for girls."

"My daddy's not a girl."

"He might as well be one attending your tea parties."

Olive rolled her eyes, "boys."

Gracie looked back towards the barn where Shane still circled. She then turned back to Olive and nodded her head in agreement, "boys."

Olive held Gracie's hand as they walked back to the house. The girl jumped every so often, her little brown cowboy boots collecting mud each time she did.

Gracie hadn't been in Olives bedroom before, it was everything you'd expect a eight year old girls room to be like. The walls were a soft shade of yellow with pink and blue flowers drawn on them. Her small white dresser had little doodles on them as well, but some were too advance to be an eight year olds drawings.

"Daddy painted those." She pointed to the bunny and chipmunk paintings.

"He's very talented,"

"I told him he should've been an art teacher after the army."

Gracie tried not to show her interest at the mention of Sterling being a military man, but she couldn't help it.

"How long'd he serve?"

Olive hummed thoughtfully, "Um, I think nine years, but he didn't go back after I was born. I'm glad I couldn't imagine him being anywhere else when people started getting sick."

Gracie nodded and took a seat on a little butterfly stool. At the table in front of her sat multiple stuffed animals and little teacups in front of them.

"I didn't know we'd be having company." Sterling said from the entry way of the room.

"She's my plus one," Olive smiled up at her dad. She beckoned him to bend down and when he did she placed a tiara on his head.

Gracie couldn't help but giggle at the sight. Now knowing Sterling was some tough military man made it even more hilarious.

They spent the next hour taking sips out of little tea cups and conversing with stuffed animals before they heard the screaming outside. More specifically, Shane's screaming.

"We don't have to go, it's probably just Shane going batshit again." Gracie said. Sterling stood to make his way over to the window, causing Gracie to close her eyes and wish the moment didn't have to be ruined.

A gun shot rang, and Gracie's eyes shot open.

She was on her feet instantly and running through the house, she heard Sterlings footsteps following behind her. When she turned she found him unlocking a closet door and pulling a rifle out of it.

"No guns in the house, huh?"

"As if you don't already have yours on you." He retorted as he loaded the weapon.

Gracie looked down to where her flannel covered her weapon before continuing to run out into the field. Upon her and Sterlings arrival, they found Shane attempting to break the barns chains.

Gracie looked to her brother, who had a walker on one of the animal catcher poles. "This is not the way, please!" Rick shouted, but it was too late, the barns latch was broken and the walkers were already making their way out.

The group took out their weapons and shot them in the head as they exited. To Gracie's surprise, Sterling pointed his rifle at a walker and shot it in the head.

Gracie pulled out her pistol (which she wasn't supposed to already have on her) and followed the groups lead.

"Daddy!" Olive called as she ran out into the field. When the girls eyes landed on what was happening, she screamed. Sterling was quick to drop his rifle and run over to his daughter.

Gracie was briefly distracted by Olive that she didn't realize everyone had stopped shooting.

When she turned back to the barn all the air left her lungs.

"Sophia! Sophia!" Carol sprinted towards her daughter, only to be intercepted by Daryl.

Sophia, the girl they'd spent days looking for after she ran from the highway. Carols daughter, Carls friend, just a little girl. Now one of those things.

Somebody had to do it.

Gracie looked to her brother who was already stepping forward.

The gunshot went off and all that was left to be heard was Carol's sobs.

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